So I'm driving along in the tintop and suddenly it's beeping at me... bulb gone. I was a hundred yards from a thrift shop and nipped in -
bargain! - two H7 "hyperwhite" bulbs for £3!! Can't go wrong, right? Wrong. They're crap, surprise surprise, but they got me
home safe and sound without exchanging paint with Mr Armco.
So now I need to change that one and I'm looking at upgrading the others while i'm there, as they've always been a bit lacklustre and
I'm always driving my family around dark country lanes when I go see my folks out in mid-wales. So I need four good H7s.
Couple of questions for you lot:
1. Has anyone used "upgrade" bulbs like Osram Nightbreaker and Phillips Extreme? Are they genuinely any better than standard bulbs? I
note they are all 55w, ie just the same as the standard ones... this makes me a little suspicious. Also if you have used these, are they chav blue or
proper white?
2. Anyone used higher power bulbs without mishaps? I note there are stacks of 80-100w bulbs about for "offroad" driving, though I'm
thinking these would probably cook some wires or even melt a reflector. What about 65w bulbs - anyone tried these?
Cheers folks!
I use the Osram Nightbreaker on my main beams and they are noticeably better than the old ones.... They are much whiter...match the HID projector dipped lights a bit better... lol
Many years ago when I had my FJ1200, I decided to try a "Xenon" bulb - it too was crap.
I then went back to shop and asked if they had anything else.
"Got these 130/90's"
Superb, especially when combined with two 55w spots
Didn't melt or blow anything, but hey these are modern times with modern materials, and twitchy manufacturers who'll probably tell you the
car will go up in a ball of fire if you use anything more than a 55w bulb.
Pay your money and you take the chance I guess
ATB
Simon
I put some of the Phillips X-tremes in the westfeild. Including doing a short back-to-back test.
- It was a toss up between them and the Osram Nightbreaker which although ive not tried them, are apprently simulur.
Firstly, there are not chalk and cheese, so done expect 80% more light or anything like that.
- However, they did apprear to put out a fractionall better beam pattern, and they did deffonatly give a whiter/blue, which appears brighter.
- I shone it on number of colours of board, the hedge, and the grey trailer inside from 30ft.
In summary, the diffrence is supper massive. But at £16 posted, there is a diffrence, they are a direct fit, and draw the same amount of power.
I bought mine from powerbulbs via there ebay store (search for phillips x-treame)
Daniel
Steve from SVC has recommended some super-bright bulbs on this forum - can't remember what type he suggested, but they were legal and E-marked,
top brand and worked well.
Might be worth a search back.
did some searching - the higher the bulb efficiency the shorter the life, so it seems. So I went with mid-range ones, Osram Silverstar. 50% more
than normal apparently but life not much less than normal. the 90% ones are apparently reduced to 300-400 hours mean life... 
quote:
Originally posted by jlparsons
did some searching - the higher the bulb efficiency the shorter the life, so it seems.